The changing face of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population has a median age of 21 years, compared with 38 years for non-Indigenous people, according to a publication released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

Director of the National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics, Julie Nankervis, said the Census of Population and Housing: Characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2011 looks at the 2011 Census statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

“Overall nearly 550,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were counted in the 2011 Census, which is an increase of 21 per cent from 2006,” said Ms Nankervis.

“The publication shows children aged under 15 years make up 36 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, compared with 19 per cent of the non-Indigenous population.

“People 65 years and over make up 4 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population compared to 14 per cent of the non-Indigenous population.

“In the 2011 Census, we saw that 37 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over have completed Year 12 or higher qualifications, up from 30 per cent in 2006.

“In housing 59 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households rented while 25 per cent owned their homes with a mortgage and 11 per cent owned their homes outright.

“There was a large increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households that had access to an internet connection at 63 per cent, compared to 40 per cent in 2006.

“Over one-third of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over provided unpaid childcare for their children and/or someone else’s children in the two weeks prior to Census, while 13 per cent provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability.

Just over one in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people spoke an Australian Indigenous language at home,” she said.

· The ABS will continue to release Census products that report statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
· For comparative statistics between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people, see the 2076.0 publication.
· These products can be accessed on the web for free.